Nutrition Publications - Friedman School & HNRCA

Research Activities & Impact

The Friedman School is doing important work locally and globally in all areas of nutrition science and policy. We hope to illustrate the depth and breadth of our research and impact by detailing some of our projects and initiatives, both active and past. Browse activities using our major theme areas, or navigate using the map.

The Beginning Farmer Network of Massachusetts (BFN/Mass) is a collaborative group of farmers and farm service providers dedicated to beginning farmer success in Massachusetts. By creating more space for networking and collaboration amongst Beginning Farmers and Service Providers we hope to bring together people who want to work on similar issues, who want to share information and lessons learned, and who can inspire each other by the work they are already doing.

The Body Composition Analysis Center (BCAC) of the Tufts University Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy offers an unmatched combination of scientific expertise and cutting-edge computer technology for the analysis of bone density and body composition. Associated with the world-class research laboratories for the study of aging, nutrition, and physiology at Tufts, the Body Composition Analysis Center is a leading referral center in meeting the complex data analysis needs of other laboratories, health-care facilities, and research organizations.

Current childhood obesity statistics are dramatic and worrisome. Today's children may live shorter lives than their parents – a first in this nation’s history. Over the past 40 years, rates of obesity have doubled in 2- to 5-year-olds, quadrupled in 6- to 11-year-olds, and tripled in 12- to 19-year-olds. The causes of obesity are complex and interconnected. The environment created by culture, societal norms, community assets, and practices within the home all influence a child’s ability to make healthy choices and, ultimately, affect his or her weight status.

The acronym CHOMPS stands for “Coupons for Healthier Options for Minors Purchasing Snacks.” The work is being conducted by researchers at Tufts University and Michigan State University, in cooperation with Shape Up Somerville and other community partners and researchers. This project is supported by Agriculture and Food Research Initiative. Competitive Grant no. 2014-69001-21756 from the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

A persistent challenge of development projects is ensuring that the benefits of interventions are sustained after the projects end. However, there is little evidence on the effectiveness of different strategies to ensure the sustainability of development projects’ activities, outcomes, and impacts. The phasing out of development food assistance projects supported by USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (FFP) in Kenya, Honduras, Bolivia, and India provided an opportunity to review the exit strategies and processes that were put into place during the life of the projects and observe their effect on the sustainability of project activities and benefits up to 3 years after the projects ended. FANTA partner, the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University, carried out the FFP-funded multi-year studies, which provide guidance to future FFP projects on how to achieve lasting project benefits, with implications for other development projects as well.

The Empowering New Generations to Improve Nutrition and Economic Opportunities (ENGINE) Program is a five-year, integrated nutrition program intended to decrease maternal, neonatal and child mortality by improving the nutritional status of women and children less than 5 years of age through sustainable, comprehensive and coordinated evidence-based interventions in four major regions of Ethiopia. ENGINE is funded by USAID and implemented by Save the Children International with a consortium of partners, including Tufts University.

Sustaining Development: A Synthesis of Results from a Four-Country Study of Sustainability and Exit Strategies among Development Food Assistance Projects

Drs. Beatrice Rogers and Jennifer Coates have released the high-level results of a four-country, multi-year study of the sustainability of development gains from several USAID Office of Food for Peace (FFP) development food assistance projects.

The objective of the Food Aid Quality Review project is to develop a consensus surrounding food aid’s nutrient specifications and formulations among a range of stakeholder groups, among which are key officials at USAID and USDA, who can ensure the implementation of recommendations emerging from the project recommendations. This project takes account of advances in nutrition and biological sciences alongside developments in food technology to make available cost-effective commodities tailored to meet the needs of people living in developing countries.

The goals of the Nutrition Innovation Lab are to generate empirical evidence on the effectiveness of integrated interventions targeting nutrition outcomes in vulnerable populations such as women, infants and young children and to generate human and institutional capacity at local and national levels to identify problems, apply appropriate research tools, assess intervention options, implement best practices, and document impact.

The Feinstein International Center is a research and teaching center based at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University. Their mission is to promote the use of evidence and learning in operational and policy responses to protect and strengthen the lives, livelihoods and dignity of people affected by or at risk of humanitarian crises.